Improvement in billiard-tables



I H. w. coLLENDER.

Billiard-Tables.

PatentedDec. 23,1873.

UNITED STATES PATENT @,rrcno HUGH W. COLLENDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN `BILLIARD-TABLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 145,787, dated December 23, 1873; applicationiled January 16,v 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, H. WV. COLLENDER, of New York, of New York coimty, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Billiard-Tables; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this application.

v Previous to my invention it has been customary in the construction of billiardtables to form the body of the table with vertical sides extending downward from lines a short distance within the outer edges of the cushionrails, or with what are generally designated as straight or vertical side rails and previous to my invention nearly all billiard-tables manufactured and used in this country have been made according to this plan. A great variety of designs in the nish and ornamentation; and in the shape of the legs, have been devised and carried into use, and many and great improvements in the past few years have been made in the construction of the beds, cushions, and details of the table, for which numerous patents have' been granted to me and to other billiard-table makers, until nearly all the requisites of a perfectly-working and unique apparatus or machine appeared to have been attained 5 but one serious inconvenience and disadvantage still remained in the shape of the body of the table. It was necessary, on account of the weight of the bed, and to provide for a sure and lasting support of the same, to have the side rails (or the body) of the table of considerable depth, and their arran gement in vertical planes extending downward the requisite distance has proved a source of great disadvantage to the player in preventing him from assuming a position with his leg nearest the table, by which he might be enabled to place and conveniently hold his bridge hand as far over on the bed ofthe table (or as far away from the cushion) as possible, (in the execution of shots in which the cue ball rests far from the cushions,) and thus avoid the use of the bridge, which, to most players, is objectionable, and which it isof great advantage to dispense with as much as possible. And it will be observed that the bevel of the sides, as hereinafter fully set forth, enables Vtime permit the player to retain his equilibrium, which is to vbe considered in making long shots.

My invention has for its objects to overcome this objectionable feature in the shape of the body of the table, as heretofore made, and to provide a table which, while it shall be equally as strong, durable, and desirable in all other ways as the kind heretofore made, shall have its side rails or the sides of its body so slanted under from the cushion-rails, or so beveled or obliquely arranged, as to be entirely out of the way of the leg of the player, and so as to permit the player to place his bended knee as far under the cushion-rail and table-bed as may be necessary to effect the placement of his bridge hand in the farthest possible position or distance from the cushion, and at the same time retain his equilibrium, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will more fully explain the construction and operation thereof, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure lis a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a vertical cross-section, of a billiard-table made according to my invention.

The bed B, the cushion-rails C, with their attached cushions e, and the legs a, which support the body of the table, are all made and arranged in about the usual most approved manner; but the side rails f, or sides of the body of the table, are made and arranged, as seen, in an oblique, in lieu of the usual vertical or nearly vertical7 position. The figure represented by the body thus formed is that of an inverted frustum of a pyramid,insteadof being about rectangular in its appearance, as in tables heretofore made. The sides f should be beveled or inclined inward, as they descend from the cushion-rails or under side of the bed, at about an angle of from thirty to forty degrees, or quite sufficiently to permit the player to place his leg in the proper position for reaching as far as possible with the bridge hand.

At Fig. 2 I have illustrated by dotted lines part of a players figure to show the convenient and advantageous position. which the player may assume in stretching his bridge hand far out on the tableand which position it would be utterly impossible to assume were the sides f extended down, in the usual manner, about vertically. I

It will be seen that in a table made according to my invention the body will be equally as strong as, if not stronger (with the same amount of material) than, a table made the old way, while, by the convergence of the sides f as they descend, the legs d are brought farther under the table, and more out of the way of the players feet. The construction of such a table as herein shown and described is no more expensive than one with the vertical sides, and may be ornamented and elaborated to the same extent that other tables can be, while at the same time the inclina-tion or obliquity given to the sides, and the consequent location of the legs farther under the table, give to the whole machine or contrivance a lighter and more beautiful appearance.

It will be understood that the angle of inclination of the sides f may be varied somewhat from the position or inclination shown without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, the gist of which rests in the idea of having the planes of the side rails f so inclined or beveled under as to permit the placement of the players leg substantially as I have eX- plained; and it will also be understood that the details of construction, designs, 'and ornamentations of the table, and they form o f its cushions, bed, 85o., form no part of my mvenf tion, and may be varied to suit the will of the manufacturer.

I am aware that tables have been made with curved side rails, or with the sides of the body somewhat run under; but in such tables (known as French tables, and not made or used to any extent in this country) the side rails have been formed in a sort of ogee shape, costly to manufacture, and substantially different from and not accomplishing the objects of my invention. I do not, therefore,wish to have my invention confounded with such construction of table; neither do I wish to be understood as limiting my clailnof invention to any precise angle of inclination of the sides, or precise details of construction; but

Having explained the construction and advantages in use of my improved billiard-table, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A billiard-table formed with beveled side rails f, or with the sides of its body beveled under, substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

HUGH W. COLLENDER.

In presence of- JULIUs l?. CHILD, J ULEs PLUNKETT. 

